Abstract: The year 2016 stood out prominently as a highly unusual year in the history of China–Singapore relations. Not since the two countries established high-level contact in the late 1970s has the relationship encountered so many disruptions and uncertainties in a single year. Most disruptions were in the form of Chinese elites’ and the media’s verbal criticisms of Singapore. The Chinese foreign ministry intervened with its own statements of displeasure, but economic ties between the two countries have not been substantially damaged and the relationship appears to have stabilised in 2017. Nevertheless, it is important to look back at the tensions and draw lessons that might be useful for steering the relationship ... Read MoreKeywords: Singapore; China; Political corruption; Imprisonment; False imprisonment; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; Educational attainment; Local officials and employees; Pawnbroking; Small business; Decentralization in government; Public goods; Taxation;PubDate: 2017-09-11T00:00:00-05:00

Abstract: The Chinese leadership that came to power at the 18th Party Congress in 2012 has made anti-corruption a centerpiece of its reform agenda. While it is not unusual for leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to use periodic bursts of hyper-enforcement to keep corruption under control, the latest anti-corruption drive is unprecedented in terms of the number of high-level, well-established politicians being investigated and punished. Within just two years following the 18th Congress, more than 60 civilian officials at or above the ministerial level1 were taken down by the Party’s anti-corruption agency. To put this figure into historical context, for 24 years between 1987 and 2010, the Party penalised no more ... Read MoreKeywords: Singapore; China; Political corruption; Imprisonment; False imprisonment; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; Educational attainment; Local officials and employees; Pawnbroking; Small business; Decentralization in government; Public goods; Taxation;PubDate: 2017-09-11T00:00:00-05:00

Abstract: This article attempts to examine the establishment and functioning of makeshift jails, represented by the “cowshed” (niupeng), during the Cultural Revolution, 1966–1976. These jails were neither authorised by state law enforcement organisations, which were under attack during the mass-based revolts, nor were they private confinements. The various forms of extrajudicial detention locked up and tortured many innocent people who were deemed politically susceptible. There are very few studies on the forms of imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution. Research on the Cultural Revolution also often fails to differentiate jail and prison from other mass-based or state-delegated detention sites established under ... Read MoreKeywords: Singapore; China; Political corruption; Imprisonment; False imprisonment; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; Educational attainment; Local officials and employees; Pawnbroking; Small business; Decentralization in government; Public goods; Taxation;PubDate: 2017-09-11T00:00:00-05:00

Abstract: Since the 1990s, strategic analysts and policy practitioners have become increasingly worried about the rapid rise of China and its implications for East Asian security, although Beijing has vowed that China’s rise will remain peaceful. The concern stems from multiple factors, namely China’s authoritarian political regime, impressive economic growth, advanced industrial system, vast military potential, high military spending, increased tensions with its neighbours over maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas and the rise of nationalism at home. Of these, China’s significant military expenditures, obfuscated by the lack of transparency, is a major source of regional anxiety about the potential ... Read MoreKeywords: Singapore; China; Political corruption; Imprisonment; False imprisonment; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; Educational attainment; Local officials and employees; Pawnbroking; Small business; Decentralization in government; Public goods; Taxation;PubDate: 2017-09-11T00:00:00-05:00

Abstract: Chinese elite studies have demonstrated that educational levels have increased for both central and local leaders for several decades.1 Education, admittedly, functions as a crucial criterion for Chinese leadership selection. For example, according to Article 7 of Interim Regulations on Cadre Recruitment (Dangzheng lingdao ganbu xuanba renyong gongzuo zanxing tiaoli), the recruitment of Party and state cadres takes associate degree qualifications or above into account.2 For vice-ministerial/provincial-level cadres, receiving a college education was basically a necessary standard.3 In 2002, a college degree or higher functioned as a recruitment criterion and was extensively applied to leaders at the ... Read MoreKeywords: Singapore; China; Political corruption; Imprisonment; False imprisonment; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; Educational attainment; Local officials and employees; Pawnbroking; Small business; Decentralization in government; Public goods; Taxation;PubDate: 2017-09-11T00:00:00-05:00

Abstract: Although China’s financial industry has expanded rapidly over the past two decades, the intended clients of microfinance continue to draw on informal finance due to limited supply of formal credit.1 In the meantime, the private sector has played an increasingly important role in the national economy.2 The rapid development of the private sector in China suggests that informal finance can facilitate firm growth more effectively than formal bank credit.3 Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 99.7 per cent of China’s total number of enterprises and provide more than 80 per cent of employment.4 The formal financial institutions, particularly the big state-owned banks, are stringent in screening ... Read MoreKeywords: Singapore; China; Political corruption; Imprisonment; False imprisonment; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; Educational attainment; Local officials and employees; Pawnbroking; Small business; Decentralization in government; Public goods; Taxation;PubDate: 2017-09-11T00:00:00-05:00

Abstract: Over the past two decades, decentralisation has become an important institutional innovation, particularly in the transitional and developing economies of Africa, Latin America and Asia. However, the causal link between fiscal decentralisation and the delivery of public services in subnational governments has long been debated. Although there is an abundance of theoretical literature written on this phenomenon, these studies have yet to verify the absolute superiority of either centralisation or decentralisation. In this article, the authors study the case of China to empirically test the inferential relationship between fiscal decentralisation and the provision of public goods. Various institutional ... Read MoreKeywords: Singapore; China; Political corruption; Imprisonment; False imprisonment; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; Educational attainment; Local officials and employees; Pawnbroking; Small business; Decentralization in government; Public goods; Taxation;PubDate: 2017-09-11T00:00:00-05:00

Abstract: Scholars have debated about whether cross-strait interdependence promotes peace or causes conflict,1 since it is a key issue of policy differences between parties supporting and opposing China. China and Taiwan resumed formal dialogue and negotiations in June 2008, leading to 23 agreements signed between June 2008 and May 2016. But China still does not recognise Taiwan as a state. It regards it as a provincial government and has not renounced the use of force against Taiwan. Thus sovereignty and national security are the main causes of cross-strait political disputes.2 In March 2014, Taiwanese student protesters opposed the non-transparent review of cross-strait agreements and requested legislation to establish ... Read MoreKeywords: Singapore; China; Political corruption; Imprisonment; False imprisonment; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; Educational attainment; Local officials and employees; Pawnbroking; Small business; Decentralization in government; Public goods; Taxation;PubDate: 2017-09-11T00:00:00-05:00

Abstract: Fishing is a long-practised tradition in China’s bordering seas. The rapid economic growth following China’s economic reforms in the late 1970s shored up national development. As Chinese society grew in affluence, seafood consumption also increased, and this spurred the growth of related industries, and boosted imports and exports of seafood products. The consequence of increased consumption is the depletion of fishery resources off China’s coastal waters. Serious coastal pollution and overfishing also contribute to marine resource exploitation, and deeper waters are not spared from the devastation. A combination of challenges, namely overfishing, serious pollution, illegal and illicit fishing (illegal and ... Read MoreKeywords: Singapore; China; Political corruption; Imprisonment; False imprisonment; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; Educational attainment; Local officials and employees; Pawnbroking; Small business; Decentralization in government; Public goods; Taxation;PubDate: 2017-09-11T00:00:00-05:00

Abstract: As a research institute based in Singapore, the EAI monitors developments in relations and interactions between China and the individual countries of Southeast Asia as well as the ASEAN grouping as a whole. This material is presented in the form of (i) a chronology of events and (ii) important documents. This chronology of events in ASEAN-China relations was sourced mainly from the ASEAN Secretariat website ; The Straits Times; Bangkok Post; Bernama (Barisan National News Agency); Comparative Connections: An E-Journal of East Asian Bilateral Relations ; Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs ; Peoples’ Daily; South ... Read MoreKeywords: Singapore; China; Political corruption; Imprisonment; False imprisonment; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; Educational attainment; Local officials and employees; Pawnbroking; Small business; Decentralization in government; Public goods; Taxation;PubDate: 2017-09-11T00:00:00-05:00